The present invention relates to candles and processes for their manufacture, and more specifically, to candles having a flame consumable core with a non-consumable outer shell.
Candles are an ancient item of manufacture and an article of artistic handiwork. Throughout the centuries people have enjoyed the flickering light of candles cast into a room, and the warm glow transmitted through a candle's translucent walls.
To accentuate the appearance of candles, images have been engraved, inscribed and painted on their outer surfaces so they would not only emit light, but display images or patterns as light passes through their outer walls.
Such candles, intended as much for decoration as for shedding light, are generally non-colored or lightly colored candles and have a relatively large cross-sectional diameter. As the wick burns in the central core of the candle, an outer wall is left standing through which the light from the wick shines, illuminating the images or patterns in the outer walls.
There are drawbacks to these candles, however. Walls of thick candles do not melt evenly, leaving thick areas and thinner areas that vary the amount of light passing through. As wicks burn, they often tilt to one side, causing the walls to melt through and wax to run out. When a thick-walled candle burns, the walls often slump or collapse, distorting any image it is designed to present, and sometimes melting a hole through the wall and the image, presenting a ragged or drooping top candle rim that many found unsightly. When a thick-walled candle is burned through, this outer drooped shell is left and is of no value, since it cannot be effectively reused without remelting. The amount of colorant (usually a dye) in the candle wax that is necessary to give the candle a visually attractive color when the candle is unlit unfortunately blocks light transmission when the candle is lit.
To address these problems, candles have been created that have more than one portion (typically two): an outer shell of relatively high melting point wax and an inner core of relatively low melting point translucent wax. The inner core is designed to melt and burn, and the outer shell is designed to remain rigid and unmelted. If the melting point of the waxes, the diameter of the inner and outer layers, and the size of the wick are chosen properly, the inner, lower melting point core of a candle can be burned away, leaving a smooth outer shell wall with a well preserved inner surface substantially as originally manufactured.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,552 is one example of a two portion candle having a higher melting point outer shell and an inner core of lower melting point consumable wax. This reference discloses a method of manufacturing a candle by affixing wax flowers of various colors to a wax core, then encasing this structure in a shell of higher melting point wax. The process described in the '552 patent primarily involves two steps: creating an inner core, then encasing the core in an outer shell of higher melting point wax. One drawback of this process is the need to affix devices to the outer wall in order to create a multicolored shell.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,252 discloses another candle with a higher melting point outer shell and a lower melting point inner core. This patent discloses a multi-step method of making a highly textured outer shell of wax that duplicates a vase, candle holder or some similar three dimensional structure, then filling this with consumable candle wax. The steps in creating the shell are complex, involving rotating a cylindrical mold, partially filling the mold with wax, and allowing the cooling wax to solidify and build up in layers on the inner surface of the mold, thereby creating a hollow outer shell.
This method is particularly useful in duplicating the surface texture of a deeply relieved structure, such as a cut glass vase, candleholder or the like. A serious drawback is the necessity of using mold rotating machinery, the required space for this equipment, and the length of time required to cool the wax in order to create a hollow outer shell of the right thickness. It is also incapable of producing a plurality of differently colored longitudinally disposed layers. A single layer is produced along the entire length of the inner surface.
A different method of making and decorating a core-and-shell candle would be advantageous. A method that reduced the time, equipment and effort required would allow higher rates of production with a smaller investment of labor and capital.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a better method of manufacture for a core-and-shell candle. It is a further object of this invention to provide a core-and-shell candle that glows. Additionally in this regard, it is also an object to provide a candle that is made of at least two waxes with different melting points wherein the outer shell resists melting and is therefore reusable.
It is another object of this invention to provide a new mold design for such candles. Further in this regard, it is an object to provide an inexpensive mold design that is easily assembled and disassembled. It is a further object in this regard to provide a mold that need not be rotated to provide a hollow internal cavity.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a method of decorating a candle that integrates translucent colored layers of said candle with an image applied on the outer surface to thereby provide a more visually appealing candle.